Output details

Generation of scaled protogalactic seed magnetic fields in laser-produced shock waves

This experiment, theory and numerical work simulated protogalactic magnetic seeding effects by exploding a carbon rod with a high-power laser. Bingham provided the theoretical background to magnetic field generation in plasmas, having already worked on possible mechanisms to create magnetic fields on asteroids, the moon and in the early universe. This supported the experimental team, who conducted the experiments at RAL, in identifying the most probable mechanism from the experimental data. This provided a crucial link in the chain by using computer codes to scale the results through 22 orders-of-magnitude, finding that the measurements closely matched previously-proposed seeding theories.